Winter Games - Surfing West Coast- 2026
- Richard (Dickie)
- Jan 28
- 3 min read
With anticipation running high, I drove back from Nova Scotia excited to build another surf scaffolding for the judges and film the competition with them. The dates were decided from our 3 week contest window but the exact location is always a surprise the morning of the event! David Schiaffino the competition director called me as I was getting out of the water that morning and told me to "get ready sir". The teamwork really does make the dream work and everyone pitched in to create yet another grand stage with banners, great music, commentary, first aid and prizes!
The Winter Games it Tofino, BC, Canada would be a very special one for me, I did not know it at the time, but i would be competing in the masters division for long board and short. I have become accustomed to filming and I take pride in offering every heat on my website for everyone to learn from and share with family & friends alike.... So when i had equipment failure and only one working battery, I felt as though I was letting down the team. Great things happen from great leaders and David knew how hard I always work and never surf myself in these events. He surprised me by entering me and all of a sudden I could not even think about anything except surfing infront of a crowd with only 4 of us in the water! I paddled out with butterflies and my good friend Charlie took over the camera for my first heat. I scored low, but I did get 3 waves on my short board and so we tossed out my lowest wave and my top 2 added up to my final score. it was nothing to write home about but the experience was unforgettable!
The Second Day was filled with the same energy, the same sunshine and some of the best waves we have ever had for competition day! The wildest part of the these fun events is the "push in" catagories, where parents are allowed to paddle out in the water with their child and push them into the waves, usually 12 and under. As we said, some of the best waves ever, but could you imagine being 10 years old infront of everyone and getting pushed into waves that are much larger than you! It was spectacular, unbelievable how these small children were absolutely charging these big burley waves with all smiles and laughter!
As the day came to an end, all the prizes and free food given away, we started tearing down the scaffolding under the sunset with laughter and music. I drove home that night telling everyone that it was fun but i think my place is behind the camera. I was coming down from all the nervousness and anxiety that comes along with competitions, I got 3rd in Masters Longboard! Perhaps I will compete again in the Summer Games this year, now that all the dust has settled, I have to be honest about the rush i got from being on the other side of the lens. Its common knowledge that surfing is a soulful sport, one that gets you in touch with nature and yourself, not about competing, but living life in tune with the flow... I still love my mornings, I still love walking out into the water with the sea lions and gazing into the rising sun from my board as a wave sends me sailing towards the beach.... Today i have to admit, I enjoyed the competition and all the energies that came with it. I am excited for our next one whether I am Building, Filming or Surfing :)
A special shout out to West Coast Shapes for hosting this event and District of Tofino for sponsoring an incredible event that brings the surf community together. We managed to capture about 80% of the heats from this competition, which can be viewed in our archive https://www.sunrisesessions.net/events/winter-games-wcs
We are always stoked to be part of these events both behind the lens, and this time in-front of it too! Until next time! Stay warm, stay frothy!
-Richard
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